The Detroit Lions returned home in Week 17 and proceeded to beat the brakes off the lowly Chicago Bears. The offense did whatever they wanted on the ground and in the air as they moved the ball with ease all game. On defense, the team started shakily but rebounded quickly and shut out the Bears after the first two drives. It was a great performance for the team as they took care of an inferior opponent. Let’s see how each position group did in the win.
Detroit Lions’ Offense:
Quarterback
Jared Goff continued his torrid play with a clinical performance against a bad Chicago defense. With such great play around him, Goff did not need to be spectacular, but he did exactly what was needed to keep the offense moving. He was accurate on all his passes and did a great job spreading the ball around to his receivers. he ended the day with an incredibly efficient 255 passing yards in another mistake free day.
Report Card Grade: A
Running backs
The Lions’ rushing attack has struggled in the second half of the year, but it was impossible to tell on Sunday. The Lions rushed for 265 yards behind big days from Jamaal Williams and D’Andre Swift. Williams picked up a season high 144 yards and added another goal line touchdown.
Next to him, Swift returned to early season form. On only 11 carries, Swift picked up 78 yards as he evaded Bears’ defenders all game. It was great to see the running game bounce back as it can pay huge dividends next week and hopefully beyond.
Report Card Grade: A+
Wide Receivers
With such an effective run game, the receivers were not needed for much of the game. Still, they did have some nice plays on the day. Amon-Ra St. Brown got up to 100 catches on the season as he made the most of his four catches.
To pair with him, DJ Chark flashed his skills as a deep threat with two 28-yard receptions, and Kalif Raymond continues to be sneakily effective in a small role. However, it was rookie Jameson Williams with the highlight of the day as he showed off his incredible speed on a 40-yard reverse. The group is already talented, but the more Williams gets involved the more lethal they can be.
Report Card Grade: B+
Tight Ends
The tight ends do not have a huge role in the offense, but they have a big role in the red zone. A week after Shane Zylstra caught three touchdowns, Brock Wright had his turn with two red zone touchdowns. They also did a good job in the run game, opening up plenty of holes for the Lions’ backs. The numbers don’t show a huge impact, but the tight ends continue to do their job.
Report Card Grade: B+
Offensive Line
The offensive used Sunday to flex their muscles against a weak Bears’ front four. The offensive line completely dominated the game up front in every aspect of the game. In the run game, they opened up huge holes as the running backs got to the second and third levels without being touched frequently. In the passing game, Goff had all the time in the world to throw. Goff was only sacked once and was unbothered the entire game. It was a perfect day for the offensive line as they dominated the game.
Report Card Grade: A+
Detroit Lions Defense
Defensive Line
On defense, the Lions dominated in the trenches as well. Every time Justin Fields dropped back, he was hounded by Lions’ pass rushers. They ended up sacking Fields seven times on the day for a loss of 45 yards.
Rookies James Houston and Josh Paschal led the way with three and two sacks respectively. Houston was unblockable all game as he won in many different ways. The third rookie, Aidan Hutchinson also had a tremendous game. Hutchinson only had .5 sacks, but he did a great job containing Fields and added an interception and fumble recovery. The future looks really bright as the rookies up front led the way in a great defensive performance.
Report Card Grade: A+
Linebackers
The linebackers started off the game rough as Fields carved up the defense using his legs. After he picked up 100 yards in one quarter, the linebackers really tightened it up. Fields only picked up 30 yards the rest of the game, and the Bears’ running backs only picked up 55 yards on the day. Despite the poor start, a solid game for Alex Anzalone and Malcolm Rodriguez.
Report Card Grade: B+
Secondary
The secondary played horribly last week, but they were able to bounce back this week. Fields only threw for 75 yards on the day and completed only 33% of his passes. The Bears’ passing attack is nothing special, but the Lions’ coverage did not give Fields any easy throws. The biggest bounceback came from second-year safety Ifeatu Melifonwu. After a horrible first start, Melifonwu looked solid and made some nice plays on the day. They weren’t perfect, but a positive step for a unit that has had some lows.
Report Card Grade: B
Special Teams
Once again, the special teams were quiet, but they did their job. Michael Badgley was perfect against his former team, and Jack Fox was also perfect on the day. He averaged 50 yards on the day and absolutely crushed a 60-yard punt. They did give up a big kick return before the half, but luckily, it did not cost the team any points. Special teams keeps doing their job and not losing the game for the team.
Report Card Grade: B+
Coaching
For Aaron Glenn, this game started off poorly. The Lions had no answer for Fields running the ball as he had huge gains on both designed runs and scrambles. However, Glenn did find an answer. The defense completely shut down Fields from then on as Fields had nowhere to go from them on. Great adjustments by Glenn to limit the Bears to only 30 passing yards and no success for three quarters.
His counterpart, Ben Johnson, was nearly perfect on the day. The offense was always one step ahead of the defense as they did whatever they wanted to do all game. Credit to Johnson as well for getting Jameson Williams involved in the offense as well. It was a focus for the offense, and it worked as the speedster made a big play out of his one touch. A great day for the coaches, as they handily took care of the Bears on a game that never felt close.
Report Card Grade: A
All stats via ESPN
